The Woods
by VanillaTea
Summary: Arthur was enjoying that nap. That was until the new, American cat had to disturb his slumber and cause trouble. And why did he want to go to the woods so bad? It only lead to danger... /A Neko!Talia USUK fic, rated T for fluff.


It was a warm summer's day. The sunlight streamed through the trees above, dappling the ground with spotlights of heat and reflecting colours across the garden. The perfect basking spot. Hence with there was a small, tortoiseshell cat curled up in a particularly large spotlight. Arthur enjoyed days like these, just dozing and feeling the heat on his fur. It was truly relaxing, and the only reason he ever went outside. Why would he want to anyway? His owners lived next to a large wood which would be considered a dream to any other cat. But Arthur was a proud house cat. He didn't see the fun in climbing over stumps or getting his paws wet. The most wild he ever got was occasionally batting away at the odd sparrow that wouldn't let him sleep, squawking and blocking the sun. No, the woods were not the place for him.

He was too lost in his own thoughts to notice that a large shadow had been cast over him, causing it to become unpleasantly cool. Arthur huffed slightly before opening his eyes and lifting his head up to look at the source of the shade. He didn't expect to see that on his wall. It was a large white cat, a black, fluffy ruff around his neck, a bushy black tail and a stupid grin plastered on his face. Arthur didn't recognise the cat, but figured out he must belong to the people who and just moved in next door. He stayed silent, glaring the other down as if to inquire why he was blocking the sun and interrupting to tortie's nap. The message didn't seem to translate well, however, as the foreign cat leapt off the wall and bounded over to Arthur, sitting down next to him and tilting his head with a playful glint in his eye.  
'Well howdy there! I'm Alfred, but my owners call me Alfie. Not that I'm asking you to call me that. What's your name? We just moved in next door all the way from America. Isn't that neat? You wanna go explore those woods?'  
With each new question, Alfred seemed tilt his head in another direction, his tail swishing like he was still a small kitten. He seemed incredibly excitable; something that Arthur found annoying after a while. He grimaced and yawned before stretching out his entire body and sitting up, facing the other with a frown. The sooner he answered the questions, the sooner the stranger would leave him alone and let him sleep.  
'Didn't anyone ever tell you to let sleeping cats lie? Anyway, I'm Arthur. No, you may not call me Artie. And no. I'm not going out into those woods, it's dangerous and unnecessary. Now leave me to sleep and go bother someone else, I'm not interested in any half-baked schemes.'  
This cat obviously had difficulty picking up the message Arthur was trying to put across. Instead of apologizing and returning to his own home, Alfred just grinned and batted at Arthur's ears and bounded back onto all fours, bouncing slightly and playfully.  
'Aw I just wanna see what it's like, and you can be my guide! Or are you just a 'fraidy cat? Come on, it'll be fun! It looks like you need some excitement in your life if all you wanna do is sleep. And luckily for you, I'm the most exciting cat ever! There's never, ever a dull moment with me, Artie; really, honestly, truly!'  
Arthur's frown got deeper as he narrowed his eyes. Wouldn't this fluffy idiot just shut up?  
'My name is _Arthur_, not Artie. And I am not going into those woods out of my own choice, no way. Why would I want to get pine needles in my paws and dirt in my fur? No thank you. Go into them yourself, and get lost yourself. I'm not going to look for you either.

Next thing Arthur knew, the larger cat had jumped onto him and had him pinned down by his shoulders. Without any time to object or push the other off, Alfred dipped his head down to Arthur's neck and swiftly bit off his collar. The smaller cat must admit, he had no idea how Alfred had done that. Obviously this cat had done this several times before. And before Arthur had time to fully register the whole event, Alfred had bounded off him and leapt back onto the wall, the collar in his mouth and his tail swishing playfully. Arthur leapt back onto his feet, his fur bristling in irritation. He quickly followed the other, bounding onto the other end of the wall. However, he was too slow and by the time the tortie had gotten up there, Alfred had leapt down and bounded out of his reach.  
'Hey! Give that back, I need it! My owners will be most unhappy if I come back into the house without it! Now return it at once!'  
Alfred dropped the item down onto the ground, bouncing on his paws with a mischievous glint in his eye.  
'Sure, I'll give it back. You just gotta come and get it yourself!'  
The American cat let out playful purr before turning around and running off into the woods, his tail swishing and having the same effect on Arthur as a red cape has on a bull. With a hiss and spit, Arthur leapt off the wall and blindly followed the other into the woods. Oh he would teach the fur ball a lesson, that's for sure. No one challenges Arthur and no one wakes him up just to annoy him. He slipped past trees and stumps alike, feeling the ground beneath his paws change from concrete to grass to the denser, leaf leaden ground. Branches whipped his flank like fingers and pebbles dug into his paw pads, but he didn't care. He was closing in on Alfred, and without a moment's pause he leapt onto the others back.

However, Alfred hadn't been expecting the sudden move, and stumbled over his own paws, causing the pair to tumble into a tree trunk. The collar was thrown up into the air, landing hooked over the thin branches of the fir tree above them, causing several pine needles to fall down onto the duo. Arthur was dazed momentarily, before he untangled himself from the body of the other and shook off the debris. His previously sleek fur was now all matted and dirty, and he could feel a stinging pain in his paws. Lifting them up for inspection, he saw a few pine needles stuck in the tender flesh, and he carefully pulled them out with his teeth. Each one removed cost him another flinch and hiss, and once they were all removed he could only lap at the wound softly in an aid to the stinging. He shot Alfred a venomous glare as the other also got up, shaking his body and his fur fluffing out.  
'Well done, you idiot. Look at what you've done! My owners will be furious at the state of me, not to mention I no longer even have my collar. And where even are we? You've gotten us lost in here! Do you know how dangerous that is? How could you be so stupid?'  
Alfred's ears flattened slightly against his head, his shoulders drooping with guilt. He hadn't meant for it to happen like this. He was just looking to make a friend and have fun. He certainly didn't want to have angered Arthur like this.  
'Gee Arthur…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. You just surprised me, that's all. I didn't want anyone to be hurt or anything. I'm sure your owners won't freak out too much. I mean, mine just gave up trying to give me a collar. And won't they be able to find you by chip or something?'  
Arthur snorted and shook his head, his tail twitching in irritation.  
'Don't be stupid. Why would they pay so much for their _house cat_ to be chipped like that? Until you came here, I would have never set foot outside the garden. But no, you had to come and be selfish. What happens if we are lost, hm? I have no identity out here. I'm next to a stray. It's hopeless. I wish I'd never followed you! I wish you just stayed in America!'  
The tortie let out a final, furious hiss before turning his back on the other and taking a few steps away. He didn't want to even be close to other right now. He just wanted space to calm down and get his thoughts straight, trying to retrace his steps home.

Alfred, on the other hand, felt incredibly hurt by Arthur's words. He didn't realise that Arthur was that mad at him for what he'd done, nor that he was worried at the thought of not returning home. He stayed away from the tortie, not following him or speaking. Instead, he looked up into the fir tree where the collar had landed. It would be dangerous to climb, but the collar wasn't too high, maybe half way up. And he had to at least try and right some of his errors. Maybe if he returned the collar, Arthur would at least speak to him again. He silently started climbing up the thick trunk, not wanting to alert Arthur to his plans. Within a few moments, he was already into the denser part of the tree. Whilst the branches were easy to avoid at first, the pine needles kept pricking into his paws and pelt, scratching at his face and causing him to flatten his ears completely against his head. After much difficulty, he reached the same level as the collar, and took a moment to shake his head and fur. A rain of needles fell off him and onto the ground, making barely any noise but sending up a small cloud of dust. Alfred hesitated slightly, taking in the final part of the challenge. Sure, it only a few metres out. But it was on a thin branch which was easily bending in the slight breeze. Not to mention the lack of branches beneath him. If Alfred fell, it would be a pretty direct hit to the ground. He grimaced before remembering why he was up here to begin with. He couldn't back out now, especially if he wanted to make Arthur like him again. He took a deep breath before hesitantly making his way along the branch. It instantly bent under his weight, whipping up and down lightly. Alfred's claws dug deeper into the branch, as he slowly kept edging closer and closer to the collar. He couldn't hesitate or waste time, else the branch may give out. Within a few, shaky movements, Arthur's collar were within his reach. He extended out a paw carefully, reaching to knock it down before-  
_Snap!_

Arthur quickly flicked his head back out the sound, his ears perking up and his fur bristling. What on Earth was that? He got to his feet, glaring at the cloud of dirt that had risen up into the air. Was it a fox? A raven? Some sort of danger? As the dust began to clear though, Arthur realised that is wasn't any danger at all. Rather, a now dusty ball of black and white fur with, what was that? Arthur couldn't believe it. But it was the familiar green collar that had previously made home on Arthur's neck. He bounded over to Alfred, instantly looking worried. The other wasn't moving, and there was a cut on his shoulder from falling through the few branches above and needles were tangled up in his fur.  
'Alfred! Are you ok? What on Earth did you do? Did you climb the tree? Do you know how dangerous that is? But…you got my collar. How? Why?'  
Alfred groaned slightly, coughing out a small cloud of dirt. His body felt sore, and his shoulder was aching. He shook his head, trying to clear the haze. Last thing he remembered was reaching out triumphantly for the collar. Now he was lying on the ground and looking up into the concerned, green orbs of the other. He let out a small chuckle, sitting up slowly and pushing the collar over to Arthur.  
'H-here. I mean, you seemed pretty down about loosing it, so I climbed the tree to get it. Though I guess it was a bad idea, huh? I just…I just didn't want to see you upset, that's all. I just want you to be happy. I like you Artie. So I got to kind of right my mistakes, somewhat. I'm sorry…'  
Arthur's expression softened, and he gave Alfred a soft, forgiving smile. So Alfred was only trying to make him happy. No one had really tried to do that with Arthur, often just giving up after the first greeting. But there was something about the other cat that struck something within Arthur. Perhaps it was the determination he had, or the sense of fun and freedom. He let out a small purr before leaning in to lap at Alfred's wound soothingly. He felt the other tense beneath him, as if confused t the action, before he relaxed and returned the favour. His bushy, black tail wrapped around the other's smaller form and the two shared a small, tender moment in the dappled spotlights of the afternoon sun. Arthur pulled away as the wound stopped bleeding, flicking his tongue around his jaws before looking at Alfred with a smile, which was returned in the form of a goofy grin and soft purr.  
'Maybe we should try and find our way back home? Else your owners will get worried…'

* * *

It was the early evening when the two cats finally navigated their way out of the woods. With Arthur's injured paw, and Alfred's shoulder wound, they had both limped and helped each other over their various obstacles and just taken time out to talk and admire their scenery. After a while, Arthur's initial dislike and fear of the woods had vanished, and he found himself enjoying the peace between him and Alfred. And whenever they stopped to rest or to look around at their surroundings, it wouldn't be long until their tails were entwined and soft purrs were exchanged. Arthur had grown attached to the other after what he'd done, still thankful and admiring what Alfred had done for him. He was reluctant to part and return into his own garden when they finally emerged from the woods. He turned to face Alfred, nuzzling into his good shoulder as silent farewell and gave the other's cheek a gentle lick. Alfred's tail flicked in response and he purred and bounced on his paws, just as when they met earlier, and he quickly jumped up onto the wall after Arthur, earning a quizzical stare from the other. The American cat gave a playful grin, tilting his head with mischievous intentions.

'Same time tomorrow, right Artie?'

**/Written as a reward gift for the wonderful **

**I had fun writing this. It's not something new, but I haven't done it in ages! I hope you like it OwO  
I don't own the characters, they're Himapapa's  
I do own the story and writing**


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